Though he was born in Texas, Michael Ray Davis is now a Florida-based actor who has been in over 19 films. Davis is very well-known for his amazing voice, doing much voice and commercial work as well as industrial and print.

His latest film “Born & Raised,” a film about a young man and his unorthodox grandfather living in a sleepy seaside town in Florida, is currently in post production.

*NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR:

“Though it took a long time to find the right Frank, Michael Ray’s audition was exactly what I envisioned for Frank. His look, his ability, and his voice are beyond remarkable. I can’t wait until the film is complete, and I can sit back and just listen to him move the story along with his depth and amazing voice.”

ELISE ROVINSKY

“Morigan”

Born in Sweden, Rovinsky spent seven of her early years in Austin, TX, before moving back to her homeland. She spent the next 16 years there before coming back to America for acting. In 1996, Rovinsky was accepted to the Stella Adler Conservatory of Acting in New York, where she completed their Graduate program.

Elise has performed in many stage plays and has acted in over 25 film productions. She is currently in a recurring series of shorts aptly called “The Shorts Show.”

*NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR:

“Elise was the first audition I received for “Come Morning.” First, I saw her headshot, and said to myself, ‘Wow, she looks exactly like Morigan. I hope she can act!’ And not to my surprise, I found she was amazing. We saw so many others, but they were always compared to Elise. She was perfect. I met with her in NY a few months later, and she was extremely pleasant. I truly can’t wait to work with her.”

Known for his intensity, Blake has thrived in the roles he’s chosen, and “Wes” is no exception. Blake says, “As an actor, I have a shaman-like privilege of experiencing other people’s lives in a very tangible way by literally walking around in a character’s shoes and sharing their stories with others.”

*NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR:

“Oddly, Wes was the hardest role to cast. We saw more auditions for Wes (nearly 100) than anyone else. It wasn’t until Blake’s audition that we felt, ‘Hey, this may be the guy.’ We saw him audition a few more times, watched a lot of footage from the films he’d been a part of, and more and more we felt that we’d finally found him. After meeting Blake in person, I knew that he was right. It’s a sad thing that (Blake) is such a genuinely, nice guy, because “Wes” is not! He’s a dirtbag. It will be wonderful seeing him portray that on screen.”

MAURICE MEJIA

“Jack”

Maurice is an LA-based actor who, after two short films, was cast in the feature “The River Within.” Mejia’s portrayal of a severely depressed teenager was lauded by many critics throughout the US. Maurice has since been featured in the newest Verizon commercial as well as provided voice work for the film “Late Bloomer”.

Maurice recently visited south Arkansas to do research for the role of “Jack.” While there, he viewed locations, studied dialect and local personalities, and did extensive weapons-training to prepare for “Jack.”

*NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR:

“I’d worked with (Maurice) once before, and I knew that he was an extremely dedicated and good actor. After I wrote “Come Morning,” I was thinking about the roles, and he came to mind. Maurice immediately delved into Jack, becoming this crazy, tortured, dark soul. It was kind of terrifying. After his audition, we knew that he’d give the performance the film needed.”

DEAN DENTON

“Jim”

Dean attended college at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville and worked as an extra on the TV mini series “The Blue and the Gray.” In 1989, he moved to Los Angeles and began working as a recurring role on “The Young and the Restless” as well as “Days of Our Lives.” He also worked on “Quantum Leap,” “Unsolved Mysteries,” “Beverly Hills 90210” and “Freddy's Nightmares.”

After getting married and having children, Dean moved back to Arkansas to be close to family. Three years ago, he returned to acting and has completed 7 films since.

*NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR:

“Dean auditioned and did a great job for three separate roles. There was just something kind and fatherly about him that made me feel he was right for Jim, the boy’s father and Frank’s son. Speaking with him over the past few months, I found that Dean used to visit his grandmother’s house in the town we’re shooting. That’s crazy, because the town has about 400 people. Small world.”

THOR WAHLESTEDT

“D”

Thor was born in Sweden and moved to the US when he was three. He got into acting while attending a summer camp, and afterwards, he began auditioning for many roles. He was the only Floridian actor who got a callback for the upcoming Jonathan Safran Foer film adaptation of “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.”

When Thor isn’t acting, he enjoys playing football, soccer, and the piano!

*NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR:

“It took forever to find D. It wasn’t until Thor came along that I felt that we may have found him. He auditioned three separate times and did amazingly well in an additional interview and reading. Each time I saw him work, I couldn’t believe his depth and ability to be creative yet take direction and run with it. I believe that his ability and performance will blow the minds of everyone. I’m extremely excited about him joining Michael Ray as the two leads. I think they’re going to play really well off of each other.

THOMAS MOORE

“Marion Mitchell”

Thomas grew up in Jacksonville, Arkansas. After graduating high school, he joined the U.S. Air Force and was stationed in Germany and Saudi Arabia. After six years of service, Thomas received an honorable medical discharge due to a horrible automobile accident that changed his life forever.

Realizing his passion for the stage, Thomas began his collegiate career after his time in service. He “lived” in the theatre, becoming part of nearly every productions. He received Irene Ryan nominations for his portrayal of Archbishop Romero in ‘The Fifth Sun’, Michael in ‘Dancing at Lughnasa’, and Joseph in ‘Hotel Cassiopeia’.

*NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR:

“In 2005, I cast Thomas in a short, and since then, I’ve tried to get him into every picture! We worked together again in 2008, and here we are again on ‘Come Morning.’ As a DP, Thomas’ face is one the most photographical faces I’ve ever worked with, and then there’s the whole great actor-thing, too. I’ve recently realized that I only cast Thomas as evil characters, but he happens to be one of the nicest people! Now, I can’t wait for Thomas to be the ‘face of evil’ once more! Don’t let the nice face to the left fool you!”

JEREMY HOLDEN

“Will”

Raised in McRae, Arkansas, Jeremy pursued a degree in Digital Filmmaking and Design at the University of Arkansas Little Rock.

After living as a musician, Jeremy opened Gallerage Design Studio in Conway, AR. He currently owns and operates the studio while acting on the side! “I hope to keep pushing myself to become a rememberable actor and grow with this career I have always wanted.”

*NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR:

“I put out a final call and got back quite a few auditions that never....clicked. Then Jeremy came along. I asked him to audition for Will and Charlie. First, I got his Charlie, and he was very good. After another take, I KNEW he was good, but he just didn’t look as old as I needed him to be. So we went back to Will, and he nailed it on the first take. His performance was extremely natural, and his personality came across well. It’s a small role, but I can’t wait to work with him in it. It’s also nice to have another Arkansan onboard.”

RICHARD LEDBETTER

“Charlie”

Richard Ledbetter is a native of Fordyce, Arkansas, the neighboring town to where we’ll be shooting the film. He studied English, History, and Drama at both the University of Memphis and Henderson State University.

He’s a musician, organic farmer, equestrian trainer, and the author of two historical novels, “The Branch and the Vine” and “Witness Tree/1910.” Both novels pertain to regional history and the heritage of Arkansas and the south.

*NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR:

“Don’t let the nice photo to the left fool you. From what I know of him, Richard is a nice guy, but his audition for Charlie was truly frightening. This is interesting, because when I first wrote the role of Charlie, I didn’t see him quite that way. I’d seen other good auditions, some being exactly what I thought Charlie should be. When I saw Richard’s, though, I had to reconsider the role. His look was perfect, and the approach he took was even better than what I’d written. After seeing a few more takes of him, I knew that this needed to be the Charlie that lived in the world of “Come Morning.” Now, when you hear Jack in the film mention Charlie being crazy, you’ll surely believe him!

JOEL GRAY

“Jess”

Born and raised in Arkansas, Joel has spent the majority of his 50 years in the small town of Bearden. He grew up with a great love for movies and has practically raised his own kids in the seats of the cinema.

Joel says, “When I heard that there was going to be a film shot just ‘down the road’ from my own home, I knew I had to audition!”

*NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR:

“Joel was the final role cast. He was one of the last two in the running for Charlie, and while his performance was great, his actual kindness made me lean more toward casting him as Jess, the small-town sheriff. As Charlie, I didn’t believe he was crazy-enough. Richard Ledbetter was! But I loved his take on Charlie so much that I really wanted to cast him. So Joel read for Jess, and by the end of his video audition, I already knew he had the role.”